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New member Username: JcdazaMiami, Florida USA Post Number: 1 Registered: Apr-05 | I need to know what option is the best one: Harman Kardon AVR430 - AVR435 Yamaha RX-V1400 or Denon AVR 2805 price range us$600-700 (The HK is my first selected option) |
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Silver Member Username: Edster922Abubala, Ababala The Occupation Post Number: 132 Registered: Mar-05 | All of those are fine receivers but for a notch or two above I'd look at the Marantz 7400 which usually goes for closer to $1000, they have for $650 shipped at accessories4less.com With the 7400 at that price you're basically paying for a Toyota Camry and getting a Lexus. |
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Bronze Member Username: ClaudermilkPost Number: 76 Registered: Sep-04 | Agreed. I looked at all the above mentioned manufacturer's offerings (albeit one step down on all models). The Marantz build quality is far better than the competition and to my ears sounded better. It's well worth adding to the shopping list. |
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Silver Member Username: Paul_ohstbucksPost Number: 512 Registered: Jan-05 | That's not entirely true..... Receiver quality is very subjective, and it's intended use also plays a big role because each receiver has strengths and weaknesses. Depending on it's use, a different model/brand might be best. What type of music, if any? What percentage for movies??? For example, my receiver is used 99.9% for HT purposes utilizing 7 channel surround during TV programs and movies. The 'best' receiver for me will be drastically different for a person who listens to classical music in 2 channel stereo. For me, Marantz was the worst choice, and I didnt care for their 'feature set'. Get my drift? Maybe for you, marantz is best.......it depends. |
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New member Username: JcdazaMiami, Florida USA Post Number: 2 Registered: Apr-05 | Paul, i think i use the receiver for: 90% movies, tv - satellite 10% cd music - mp3 thank's |
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Silver Member Username: Edster922Abubala, Ababala The Occupation Post Number: 136 Registered: Mar-05 | Juan, This is my experience and reasoning with HT vs. music: any so-so receiver will do just fine with HT, but music demands a significantly better receiver (and speakers). Why? When you watch a movie or TV, at least half of your attention is focused on the visual stimuli...my guess would be around 70%. Furthermore, most of HT consists of dialogue which is mostly handled by your center channel, the rest are usually fairly elementary sound effects (a subwoofer does a good bit of the rumblings, explostions, etc.) which simply require sufficient power so that you can hear them, more than any great accoustic finesse. When you listen to music, there is usually no other strong distraction---the sounds coming out of the speakers have 100% of your attention. And music on CDs are often not well mixed as compared to the music on DVDs, which can compensate for subpar speakers/source/receiver. Therefore my feeling is that any receiver that sounds good with music is bound to be more than good enough for HT, whereas many receivers that are fine for HT can really fall short for music---this was my experience with the Onkyo 601 which I returned for the Marantz. So now that you've told us that you're doing 90% HT then my advice would be to go cheap---a $350 Pioneer 1014 or $250 Onkyo 602, and put the savings into a quality subwoofer which should go for $300-500. |
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Silver Member Username: DmwileyPost Number: 418 Registered: Feb-05 | Build quality is quantifiable and is not "subjective" as Paul suggests. A piece of aluminum is stronger than a blade of grass. Sound on the other hand is much more dependent on the listener. |
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Bronze Member Username: Virus5877West Lafayette, Indiana USA Post Number: 15 Registered: Apr-05 | Edster, where did you find the Pio 1014 for $350? |
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Silver Member Username: Edster922Abubala, Ababala The Occupation Post Number: 248 Registered: Mar-05 | Cyrus, It was onecall.com and it was over a week ago, so check them again to see if they've sold out yet. Best just to run a pricegrabber.com search on it. |
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New member Username: JohnharperPasadena, CA Post Number: 6 Registered: Apr-05 | So, perusing this message board leads me to the conclusion that since I listen to music (CD's 85% of the time, FM 15%) I should be looking for a two channel stereo receiver. Is my assumption correct? Edster et al has advised me to dump my 4 Bose speakers which I may well do but not now. In the meantime, I am settling in for a HK3480 providing it has a tape monitor circuit. From viewing specs, I can't tell? Ideas, thoughts? Thanks. John |
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Silver Member Username: Edster922Abubala, Ababala The Occupation Post Number: 340 Registered: Mar-05 | Yes, the 3480 does have a tape loop: http://www.onecall.com/ProductDisplay.mpt?ProductID=22121&FEID=130&PMNID=1121&SW PC_WOOC=1&ASaP=1# |
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Bronze Member Username: Virus5877West Lafayette, Indiana USA Post Number: 62 Registered: Apr-05 | John, just because you are a music listener doesn't mean you need a 2-channel stereo receiver. In fact, with the propagation of SACD/DVD-Audio, multichannel music systems are the way to go! I am a 99% music guy, and I'm building a 5.1 surround system for it. I really enjoy classic rock albums remade in SACD. I would advise anybody on the fence about surround vs stereo to go with the surround, it gives you more options for listening (add a tv later, SACD, future formats, etc), plus 6 speakers fill out a room much better than 2. So, if you're a music fan, like I am, I would recommend getting a decent surround receiver, and the baddest speakers you can find! Your music will never sound so good! |
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Silver Member Username: Edster922Abubala, Ababala The Occupation Post Number: 351 Registered: Mar-05 | Cyrus has a good point with SACD/DVD-A surround music listening...however consider what your musical tastes and overall budget are. Personally that is a format I have not wanted to explore because not only are the individual discs much more expensive than normal CDs but also the selection is still very very small, and I am not a big fan of classic rock---at least, not big enough to shell out that kind of money for a single disc. |
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Anonymous | You can get an HK AVR 635 for that price range if you shop around. Got mine at Video Only. It's got gobs of HT explosion power and at the same time it's got a sweet, clean, neutral quality for music. It comes with a super-cool LCD remote that has a sound pressure meeter, backlit and tons more. mz |
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Anonymous | You can get an HK AVR 635 for that price range if you shop around. Got mine at Video Only. It's got gobs of HT explosion power and at the same time it's got a sweet, clean, neutral quality for music. It comes with a super-cool LCD remote that has a sound pressure meeter, backlit and tons more. mz |